In the European Union, the proportion of residents who live in a property that is considered oversized for general needs is on average 33.7 percent, according to the latest Eurostat data for 2021 data according to The ratio increased by 1 percentage point over a decade.
Eurostat calculation method based on this category, those who have more rooms per person in their household than would be absolutely necessary are also included in this category. The people living in such homes are not all wealthy, and it is even possible that they are because of their financial situation, they live in large, outdated, expensive properties.
According to the Pénzcentrum’s report, 26.3 percent of the total population in Hungary live in larger properties than necessary. and among those over 65, this rate is 42.8 percent. However, this does not necessarily mean that the population lives better and can afford the extra rooms.
Other statistics show that with earnings below 60% of the median income – which in 2021 was HUF 201 thousand gross – 36.8 percent of wealthy Hungarian seniors live in large properties. If all age groups are taken into account, this rate is only 21.6 percent.
Presumably, maintaining a property that exceeds their needs has not been as much of a problem for low-income seniors as it has been lately. One by the Money Center a recent survey According to Meanwhile, 16.9 percent of the responding pensioners have financial problems from month to month, and more than two-thirds of them had a worsening financial situation.
According to the Pénzcentrum’s analysis, for financial reasons it may be worthwhile to get rid of a property that is too large and consumes too much money, and move to a smaller apartment with lower maintenance costs. In this way, the elderly can even acquire capital that they do not have to worry about financial problems when invested. The analysis adds that it is not impossible that tens of millions of assets can be released with this.
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